Jeff Reynolds

KVNF is broadcasting from Intrinzik Music Venue in Montrose today, to generate support for our Studio M Project, bringing a KVNF studio to downtown Montrose. Drop in if you can (512 E. Main St.,) pledge online or call us at 1-866-KVNF-NOW (866-586-3669.)

Early in the evening, on a late November night, the Big Dipper skims the northern horizon. Turning our attention east-northeast, we first come to Capella, the brightest star in the constellation Auriga, the Charioteer, and the sixth brightest star in the sky. Unlike most proper star names, Capella is Latin, and means the little she-goat. Capella is a multi-star system about 42 light years distant.

Johannes Kepler published the Laws of Planetary Motion in the 17th century. In combination with Newton’s Law of Gravity, scientists still use these laws to determine the motion of objects around a larger object, including planets and suns in other solar systems. These exo-planets, so-termed because they are external to our solar system, have become an area of research in recent years.

In the summer of 1977, NASA launched the Voyager 1 and 2 space probes. Their original 5-year mission was to study Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 2 was actually launched 2 weeks before Voyager 1, but arrived at Jupiter after Voyager 1. Both probes are still functioning today after more than 40 years.

Peering upward on late September evenings, the sky is dominated by the Milky Way, which arches from the southwest to the northeast. High overhead, we can easily view the Great Rift, an area within the Milky Way but, seemingly, almost completely devoid of stars. In fact, this absence of stars is due to the gas and dust, common in spiral galaxies such as our own, which obscures the stars beyond.

Trying to find the official constellations can be a challenge, but most of us saw shapes in the clouds without even trying as children. In the same way, we can see new shapes in the stars, if we simply slow down and look. In doing so, we can reconnect with all the people who for millennia passed the time after dark by simply looking up at the stars, and coming up with their own constellations.